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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464048">Reaching Out...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalShipper/pseuds/EternalShipper'>EternalShipper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Legacies &amp; Alphas [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Gen, Omega Verse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:14:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalShipper/pseuds/EternalShipper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane reaches out to Tony in hopes of saving a friend...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Legacies &amp; Alphas [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Avengers Tower</em>
</p><p>Tony is snarking at Steve, and Steve is doing his best not to be annoyed. Natasha sits in the corner, looking out the window, pretending not to be amused, but the soft lift at the corner of her lips betrays her. Clint sits at the bar, sipping gin and chatting with Bruce. </p><p> </p><p>“Mr. Stark! Dr. Jane Foster is at the reception. She insists on speaking with you quite vehemently. She does not look… well.”</p><p> </p><p>Tony clicks a button, and a screen shows the reception. He can understand Jarvis’s comment about the good Dr’s appearance. She wears the usual jean and t-shirt getup, but is more disheveled than usual and is not wearing shoes - by the state of her feet she ran there -, clutches a big black backpack to her and on her exposed skin and face there are these smudges, that in Tony’s experience are no smudges at all,  but forming bruises. </p><p> </p><p>They all make their way down to the reception.</p><p> </p><p>As they arrive, she argues with the receptionist when someone else enters the building, going straight to her and making a grab for the backpack. When she does not relent, he places a gun to her head whispering something, but before he even has time to pull the safety off Natasha round kicks him in the head and takes his weapon. </p><p> </p><p>“She’s in shock!” Bruce states as she trembles, grabbing the backpack firmly to her chest. As Steve assists Natasha in securing the man, he looks straight at Jane with dead eyes and hisses out: “Hail Hydra…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony immediately flies Jane to the infirmary.</p><p> </p><p>“You once said you’d give me anything I wanted if I came to work for you. Did you mean it?” Her voice is teary and Tony tries to approach, but every time he takes a step she backs away, the backpack clenched between her shaky hands. </p><p> </p><p>“Dr. Foster, Jane… you need to tell me what happened. You’re not like this because of a job offer. So, just, let me help you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I just… need you to do what you promised. I come to work for you. I give you the research. All of it. And you go get Darcy.”</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Bruce arrive. </p><p> </p><p>“Shortstack?” </p><p> </p><p>Tony looks very confused and Natasha intervenes: “Is that whose blood it is? On your shirt?”</p><p> </p><p>Jane looks down and rubs at the stain.</p><p> </p><p>“Blood. Yes. Darcy.” She mumbles and then turns to Tony again. “Where’s your freezer?” She opens the backpack and Tony looks at the others at a loss.</p><p> </p><p>“Why do you need a freezer, Jane?” Clint walks towards her slowly, hands in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Darcy yelled at me. Said I had to freeze it. It was the first thing she said when they put her on the phone.” She pulls a plastic bag out of the backpack, filled with ice cubes and part of a human ear. “She said she won’t be earless forever because of my attention span.” </p><p> </p><p>Tony freezes and moments later thanks the gods of science for Bruce, who immediately grabs a small cryo-chamber and helps Jane put the ear in it. “See. It will be here until we can attach it to Darcy.”</p><p> </p><p>“We have a deal, right? I take your offer and you go Iron Manning and bring Darcy back?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, Jane. I’ll go Iron Manning and bring shortstack back to you. She’ll be annoying you to sleep, eat, and shower in no time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dr. Foster,” Steve approaches, looking somber. “We’ll do our best to bring your friend back. But for that, you need to tell us what happened.”</p><p> </p><p>Bruce approaches the bed. “Jane, you’re in chock. I’d like to give you a mild sedative. It won’t put you to sleep. It will just calm you down enough so you can help us find Darcy, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Clint helps Jane unto one of the infirmary beds as Bruce prepares saline with a mild sedative. </p><p> </p><p>Tony, Natasha, and Steve sit on the bed opposite Jane, the soldier trying to make himself seem small and nonthreatening. </p><p> </p><p>Once Jane has calmed down, Natasha starts. “The man in the lobby. Had you met him before?”</p><p> </p><p>“He was with us. He was the intern. We always wondered how Hydra kept finding us, and now we know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Finding you?”</p><p> </p><p>“When the whole Hydra-Shield thing happened, we went on the run. Shield had always shown a peculiar interest in my research. We found a safe place for Eric eventually and kept ongoing. We were careful but, they kept finding us.”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you avoid them for so long?”</p><p> </p><p>“We built a detector, per se, every time a specific radio frequency or a specific type of tech came too close, Darcy’s laptop would send us an alert and we’d run. This morning the detector didn’t sound. We heard them outside and Darcy smashed her laptop, took out the drives, did the same to the rest of the equipment, and threw it in her backpack. We were going to escape through the basement. It had an entrance not accessible from outside, but Ian stopped us. He punched her, and she fell on me. “Jane rubs the bloodstain on her shirt.</p><p>“Darcy tasered him. He was not unconscious, and they were already inside. So she pushed me into the bedroom with the backpack and locked the door. There was a spot there Ian didn’t know about, where we kept some extra stuff. I hid there and once it was safe, I came out of the window. I got stuck in the fire escape, but Darcy’s homeless friend helped me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait. Who is this friend?” </p><p> </p><p>“Is that important?”</p><p> </p><p>“It could be. Tell us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Darcy said he must be a Veteran because of the dog tags around his neck. He was already at the alley when we arrived. Darcy made a deal with him.”</p><p> </p><p>Steve’s brows furrow in worry. “What kind of deal?”</p><p> </p><p>“She lets him use our shower and gives him food. In return, he has to carry heavy stuff for her. And pull down the fire escape, because he’s tall and we’re not. She said he also helped her get some other stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of stuff?”</p><p> </p><p>Jane bites her lip, hesitating. “Medication, and the like.”</p><p> </p><p>“Illegal medication?” Tony raises a brow at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe.” She mumbles.</p><p> </p><p>“Back to topic!” Clint calls their attention. “Darcy’s homeless friend helped you, and then…”</p><p> </p><p>“He came with me out of the alley and checked if it was safe. We saw them throw Darcy in a van, and I saw him try to run after it before I made my way here. </p><p> </p><p>Ian found me midway and gave me a bo… box. He told me Darcy wanted to talk to me. The ear thing was the first thing she said, so I knew what was in the box before I opened it.”</p><p> </p><p>“What else did she say?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not to give them anything they asked for. And then there was screaming. I hit Ian over the head and went into the nearest convenience store. I bagged the box, iced the ear, and ran here.” She looks directly at Tony. “You want the research, I want Darcy. Win-Win.”</p><p> </p><p>Steve looks confused. “Did it not occur to you to simply ask for our help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would you help us in exchange for nothing? No one else has.”</p><p> </p><p>Steve means to argue, but Natasha places her hand on his arm and motions for him to leave it. “In the lobby, earlier. What did he whisper to you?”</p><p> </p><p>Jane looks down at her hands and picks at her nails. “He said: I’ll send her to you in pieces.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony had Jarvis do a full background check on Darcy Lewis while Natasha and Steve found out what Jane knew about her.</p><p> </p><p>“So, if she’s a politics Major, why is she working for you?” Jane is ready to start on a rant, but she looks at Steve and understands the question is not meant to be mean or depreciative.</p><p> </p><p>“She needed science credits, from an internship to graduate, and she procrastinated for so long that my offer was the only one that was open by the time she got to it. People rarely want to work with me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ok…” Steve pauses for a moment “but, why?” The confused look is back on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Jane looks at Bruce.</p><p> </p><p>“Jane is an astrophysicist, Steve. Her field of study is highly theoretical and her theories are rather controversial.”</p><p> </p><p>“What Dr. Banner means to say is that the science community views me as crazy because of my field of study and beliefs.”</p><p> </p><p>“Except... that her theory was right.”</p><p> </p><p>“What exactly was Dr. Foster correct about?”</p><p> </p><p>Natasha interrupts before Bruce and Jane can throw any science jargon Steve’s way. “Do you remember the Bifrost, that Thor uses to travel from one side to the other of the universe?” Steve nods. “Einstein and Rosen had theorized it was possible, and that is Dr. Foster’s field of study.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow…” Steve looks impressed. “You must be really smart. Like, Tony Smart!”</p><p> </p><p>Jane just looks dumbfounded at him and Natasha hides a smile.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“So, we’re assuming that before she was Darcy Lewis, she was someone else, correct?”</p><p> </p><p>“According to this, Darcy Lewis came into existence at the age of 7 when she entered foster care. Reports say… A state trooper found her driving a stolen car, pajamas covered in blood. Later on, the ER stated she had several cuts and bruises, along with a concussion, to which they attributed the memory loss. After that, she jumped from foster home to foster home, until she entered college on an athletic scholarship, which she lost 2 years later because of… behavioral issues. She then requested a loan to cover her school expenses and had been steadily making payments through a shadow account until she went on the run from Hydra. Now, she’s so overdue that it’s not even funny.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is interesting… throughout her school years, she has the exact same grade on every course. If you take a closer look at the tests and exams the perceptual is always average, always between 80% and 87%.”</p><p> </p><p>“As if they’re good grades, but, not too good.”</p><p> </p><p>“As if she’s hiding.”</p><p> </p><p>“So… We think the memory loss is fake?”</p><p> </p><p>“Which begs the question… What scares a 7-year-old child so much, that she spends the rest of her life hiding?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hydra?”</p>
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